Dr. O’Reilly’s 2024 Matriculation Address

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“All’s Well that Begins Well” 

Dr. Paul J. O’Reilly
President, Thomas Aquinas College
California Convocation 2024

I didn’t intend to begin my remarks this way, but the events of this weekend suggests it’s appropriate. I would like to remind you, freshmen, that you just read and discussed C.S. Lewis’s “Learning in Wartime.” It’s a poignant essay which argues for the value of persevering in one’s studies, even — or, perhaps, especially — during times of distress. In that steadfast spirit, we begin our academic year, as planned, at this Convocation. Please remember to keep John and the Kozak family in your prayers.

Shakespeare’s play All’s Well that Ends Well is considered a comedy, at least in part, because it ends with what looks to be a good thing: Helen chooses to be married to Bertram, although they have already been married, and the marriage has come about by deception and a lack of interest on the groom’s part.

As Helen puts it: “All’s well that ends well yet, though time seem so adverse and means unfit …”

“I can assure you that, if you devote yourselves to this program, you will acquire habits of mind, along with other virtues, that should guide you all your life.” 

When a good is brought about, despite our intentions, and even contrary to our intentions, and despite circumstances, it is not only surprising, but comic. A more reliable way to bring about the good, however, is with virtue and intention, and that requires a good beginning. It is more true to say: “All’s well that begins well.”

If you intend to achieve something good, begin well.

Now, the good that I am particularly interested in today is the good for you freshmen. Today, you become students at Thomas Aquinas College. I can assure you that, if you devote yourselves to this program, you will acquire habits of mind, along with other virtues, that should guide you all your life. These four years will prepare you to live well, for the education here is an education for a lifetime.

But how does one begin well here? It sounds obvious: You have to make yourselves ready to be taught. St. Thomas Aquinas emphasizes two virtues that the student must acquire: docility and studiousness.

Docility

Docility might be misunderstood as passivity and subservience, but docility involves both prudence and moderation. It is prudent to realize that, in order to come to know, you must rely on others, and you also must moderate your own estimation of your abilities if left to yourself.

But let’s be more concrete. What does it mean to be docile at Thomas Aquinas College?

One way to be docile is to read the readings carefully before class. After all, the authors that you read are the principal teachers at Thomas Aquinas College, and your tutors are your guides.

If you neglect preparation, you lack docility and are not only harming yourself but the community. The intellectual formation that this college provides is not found anywhere else that I know of. So, if you want to take advantage of your time here, you must devote yourselves to being prepared, day in and day out to learn.

If you plan your day such that you have time to read your assignments and prepare for class, you are ready to learn, because you are docile.

Studiousness

Another way to make a good beginning at Thomas Aquinas College is to acquire the virtue of studiousness. Generally, we think of studiousness as diligence and perseverance, and that is correct, but there is more to this virtue than that.

St. Thomas says this about studiousness: “As regards knowledge, man has contrary inclinations. For on the part of the soul, he is inclined to desire knowledge of things; he needs to exercise a praiseworthy restraint on this desire … whereas on the part of the bodily nature, man is inclined to avoid the work involved in seeking knowledge” (ST II-II Q.166 A.2).

Now, to be studious involves both restraint and effort. Not all pursuit of knowledge is praiseworthy.

“These four years will prepare you to live well, for the education here is an education for a lifetime.”

After speaking about studiousness, St. Thomas treats curiosity, which is a bad thing. A desire to know things that are silly, superficial, or unworthy of knowing is not good. (Notice St. Thomas notes this tendency in us almost 800 years ago.) With the development and growth of the internet, social media, video games, and movies — all aided by smartphones and other technology — there is an explosion of things that might attract your attention. These are often distractions for those who want to devote themselves to real learning. So, if you want to begin well at Thomas Aquinas College you must limit these distractions. And that involves restraint.

The second aspect of studiousness is the willingness to put in the effort to learn. It should not be surprising that any good thing requires effort. Since the program here is an education for a lifetime, then it will require discipline and effort. You should be good stewards of your time, avoid distractions, and give your best effort. Plan your day.

So, as you begin your freshman year at Thomas Aquinas College, I urge you to cultivate the virtues of docility and studiousness. If you do so, you will begin well — and all’s well that begins well.

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